Wednesday, January 13, 2010

God has seen fit to usher my husband and I in to a new place in ministry, and as part of this step, my husband and I are delving deeper and deeper into the truths of God. If you go back to my very first post, you'll see that I vowed to become a Praise Warrior, and as a result, this blog is part of my journey. I want to be able to change the world around me, but only with God working through me.

Today as I was reading in Genesis 33, I found it! My prayer for this year.

11..."You have been telling me, 'Lead these people', but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." The Lord replied, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." ..."If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth" And the Lord said..., "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

God has given me direction..."Lead these people". He has said He knows me by name and I have found favor with Him. My deepest desire, my utmost cry, is that He will teach me His ways, so I may know Him and continue to find favor with Him. I do not want to go anywhere that His Presence does not go. I don't want to be indistinguishable. The only way people with know that I am God's is if His presence goes with me.

Father God, I cannot do anything you have asked of me without You, without Your Presence going before me. Do not let me go without it. Teach me about You. Let me learn Your ways until I know the sound of Your heartbeat. I am nothing without You. I can do nothing without You. But in You I can do ANYTHING!

It's a mother's worst nightmare. Knowing that your child has gone into a world you know nothing about. All you can do is sit by and watch while your child, seemingly throws their life away. Then what happens when you are confronted by a situation that could end what little progress they've made. What do you do?

Author Kathryn Cushman tackles this very question. She has been forced to watch her son's life spiral out of control into a world so dark that it doesn't look like he'll ever survive. Just when it seems like he is getting his life together, she is confronted with evidence of an even greater evil.

How would you react? Would you keep the correct moral idea or would you do whatever it took to shield your child. Alisa Stewart is faced with just such a dilemma, and while it's easy to look at the situation from the outside and say with certainty what you would do, Ms. Cushman does an excellent job at getting inside the situation and making you actually go through this nightmarish situation with the main character.

I will admit I was a bit skeptical when I opened the book and saw the author had written in 1st person. I really struggle with this type of book as I very rarely can identify with the main character in that way; however, I was quickly pulled into the story and could very easily put myself in Alisa's shoes.

I would highly recommend that you give this book a try. It makes for great reading, while teaching you something you probably didn't know about yourself.

About Me

My mother tells this story about me at 2 years old. I had a toy box full of toys, but she would always find me with my books out on the floor. I would put them in a line, pick them up, "read" them to myself, then place them in a stack. I would then put them in a circle around me, "read" them to myself, stack them up, and then repeat.
When I was 8, my favorite place was the library. When I was 16, I was reading my textbooks for new reading material. And on and on it goes.
Check my purse on any given day. I'll always have a book in there, just in case.
Now I love to share what I read with everyone in hopes that the books will take you where you've never been before.